I've done it again. Time got away from me, so you again get a blended recap. Too much going on these days. Also, I wrote part of this this morning and am doing the rest now, so if it seems a little off, that's why.
It was Top 12 week and each couple did two dances each, which was good because I was having serious anxiety about the amount of filler necessary to fill a two hour show if they were each only doing one.
This was overall a pretty strong night for our gaggle of dancers. There were some definite weak spots, but I don't think anyone came out as a definite 'going home' contender. I think when you looked at ALL the performances there was a clear choice - if only because compared to everyone else they were the last couple standing. Not mentioning names at this point. Everyone had better bring some pretty great solos out for the results show tonight. On to last night's dancing!
Ellenore & Ryan
Lindy Hop by Carla Heiney
'I've Got to be a Rug Cutter' by The Boilermaker Jazz Band
Was this the one Nigel said looked 'twee'? I can't remember and don't have my PVR in front of me. Regardless, this one was 'twee' to me. Well danced and all that, but maybe I just don't get the style. These two are ultimately really talented regardless, I don't think they've got anything to worry about.
Kathryn & Legacy
Jazz by Sonya Tayeh
'So Deep' by Hot Chip
You all know I love me some Sonya, and this dance was no exception. I love the fact that she really tailors the dances to her dancers strengths, which really worked well for Legacy in this piece. The two of them mastered the 'photograph moments' where all movement just stops for a second. I love it when those are done well, no shaking, no shifting. It's like a sculpture with momentum. Additionally, Sonya tends to pick music that some might have problems finding the 'musicality' with when dancing. Definitely not a problem with this pair. Really well done. Love me some Legacy, he's become my FAVE dancer at this point.
Karen & Victor
Tango by Tony Meredith & Melanie Lapatin
'Montserrat' by Orquesta del Plata
Going into this, I was worried about Victor. He's a soft, flowy, Contemporary dancer. Could he pull off the strength of stature needed here? Definitely. Both Victor and Karen were fully invested in their characters and it showed. Aside from the point Nigel pointed out where Victor's ass was sticking out, the form was solid and held the whole way through. Very dramatic and well done. Thumbs up to the costume department here too. I think Karen had more fabric on her body in this one dance than she's had in all her other dances put together.
Mollee & Nathan
Hip Hop by Jamal Sims
'Ring-a-Ling' by Black Eyed Peas
Maybe this was the one Nigel called 'twee'. Okay - what the heck is 'twee'? It definitely qualified. But not necessarily in a bad way. Considering the concept, I'm not sure this could've been anything other than cute, especially with these two dancing it. It could've been hit harder by both, but overall, it was pretty good. Mollee and Nathan aren't going anywhere and, like the judges, I'm interested to see how they do paired up with other dancers.
Noelle & Russell
Samba by Tony & Melanie
'Hips Don't Lie' by Shakira
This is gonna be one of those dances that hurts this pair and may spell an ouster for at least one of them. Russell was in it, but I don't think Noelle was completely comfortable here. I agree - she was a little stiff. We've had the pleasure of seeing some really good Samba's on this show before (both the US and Canadian versions) and this wasn't one of them. Something just felt off the whole way through. Adam was right - it just wasn't 'oogie' enough.
Ashleigh & Jacob
Lyrical Jazz by Sonya Tayeh
'Time Flies' by Lykke Li
Admission up front: knowing Sonya's affinity for vampire/Twilight stuff, I had to double check the New Moon soundtrack to see if this was the Lykke Li song used on it. It wasn't. Second admission up front: writing this the day after the show, I'm having a difficult time remembering this piece. I remember thinking it was great at the time, agreeing with Nigel that it was a great piece by Sonya, but I'm drawing a complete blank now. Wait...this was the one where Jacob had to wear the horrid purple pants right? Right. That's all I can remember. So to sum up, it was good, but...it appears...not very memorable. Certainly not as memorable as the earlier Sonya piece, but still good. Ashleigh is proving herself (again) to be very versatile.
Ellenore & Ryan
Broadway by Spencer Liff
'Razzle Dazzle' from Chicago (Original Broadway Cast)
Being the non-Broadway fan I am, I was actually pretty surprised to find myself liking this one. Mostly because it seemed like Ryan was totally channeling Ed Grimley in his movement - made me chuckle the whole way through. Seriously though, this was fun. Two thumbs up for Ellenore & Ryan. Did anyone else pick up a 'goth-y' vibe from this? I liked this very much, and was for once drawn to Ryan's dancing more than Ellenore's. They're both awesome.
Kathryn & Legacy
Viennese Waltz by Jean-Marc Genereux & France
'Your Guardian Angel' by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Not to go with a theme or anything, but I do love me some Viennese Waltz. Jean-Marc (Com'ON!) and I have bonded over the Viennese Waltz before on the first season of the Canadian show. I agree with the judges that this had some technical issues throughout, but I just thought on a performance level it was lovely. Legacy is just so earnest in everything he does (as evidenced by his teary-ness after this dance) and I love that he wears his dance heart right out there on his sleeve. Going to shout my Legacy love again! Kathryn was definitely the stronger dancer of the two with this, but the pair of them really brought it together.
Karen & Victor
Hip Hop by Laurieann Gibson
'Moving Mountains' by Usher
This one was just a mess for me, flat out. The judges were right in that the music didn't fit the dance at all (which isn't the dancers' fault), the steps seemed messy (which is the dancers' fault), and you all know that Laurieann's choreography just doesn't do it for me. They couldn't move a mole hill with this, much less a mountain. Weakest showing of the night for me. I'm going to come right out and say it - this was badly choreographed but the dancer's didn't even try to bring it. Unfortunate.
Mollee & Nathan
Cancan by Tyce Diorio
'Cancan Suite' by Offenbach/Ponchielli
Okay, this dance really couldn't have been done by any other couple. I was all prepared to hate it, but it was actually pretty enjoyable. Like I said, perfectly tailored for these two with the spins for Nathan and all the cutesy stuff for Mollee. Much better than that Russian Folk horseshit (Bwah!) last year.
Noelle & Russell
Contemporary by Tyce Diorio
'A Case of You' by Diana Krall
It's so much better when Tyce does Contemporary as opposed to Broadway. He has real talent with these pieces. Add to that, the great song choice (original is by Joni Mitchell) and the strength of these dancers together and all in all this was a great performance. Easily made you forget the earlier samba.
Ashleigh & Jacob
Cha Cha by Jean Marc & France
'Cha Cha Heels' by Rosabel feat. Jeanie Tracy
This dance was a great way to end the show and this was pretty much a lock for Ashleigh & Jacob. Right in line with Ashleigh's own style and a great use of Jacob's abilities. Ashleigh rubs me the wrong way a bit, but even I've gotta admit this was hot. She's got great legs - and I loved to watch her enjoy her own style so completely. These two are Top 10 bound and beyond.
RESULTS
Okay, again, I just watched the group number and the results, so Carly's going to have to fill in some of the blanks a bit.
I've decided I much prefer Napoleon & Tabitha's group numbers to their pairs routines. Tonight's group number was awesome. The dance, the props, the costuming, the make-up; all top notch. For a few seconds at the beginning I thought "did they get Wade Robson to choreograph another routine?". Loved the Alice in Wonderland feel. I'll watch this one again (hooray for YouTube!)
Our bottom three couples were Mollee & Nathan (a little surprising), Ellenore & Ryan (slightly more surprising) and Karen & Victor (not really that surprising - not at ALL surprising from this corner).
After much monologuing from Nigel (which I'll rant about in a sec), our evictees tonight are Karen & Victor. Not really surprising (Called it Last Night), but for one thing in regards to the guys, which I intend to rant about...now.
Nigel, in his discussions with the guys, gave Victor a whole heap of praise for his solo and even more for the amount of growth he's experienced this season thus far. Then moving on Nathan, he says Nathan hasn't really shown any growth at all and doesn't really even mention his solo. Yet, it's Victor who's going home. YET - Nigel did say that if it was up to him Nathan would be going home. This wasn't a unanimous decision. The judges need to come to a decision on exactly what kind of show this is. If it is in fact, the search for America's favourite dancer, then I guess they made the right choice tonight seeing as Nathan's probably got a larger fan base. If that's the case though, they need to stop spewing about how 'this is a dance competition' and how the less trained dancers need to work on the technical, because that's clearly not the case.
Que sera, sera. See ya Karen & Victor. Sadly, your paycheques won't extend into the tour.
That's it for this week. You might be seeing more of Carly's posts over the next couple of weeks as next week is vacation prep for me and the following I'll be letting the bon temps rouler in New Orleans. A little cajun flavouring for my birthday this year! Should I mention which birthday it is? Not unless I don't want a Christmas present...LOL
Cheers! Salut!
It was Top 12 week and each couple did two dances each, which was good because I was having serious anxiety about the amount of filler necessary to fill a two hour show if they were each only doing one.
This was overall a pretty strong night for our gaggle of dancers. There were some definite weak spots, but I don't think anyone came out as a definite 'going home' contender. I think when you looked at ALL the performances there was a clear choice - if only because compared to everyone else they were the last couple standing. Not mentioning names at this point. Everyone had better bring some pretty great solos out for the results show tonight. On to last night's dancing!
Ellenore & Ryan
Lindy Hop by Carla Heiney
'I've Got to be a Rug Cutter' by The Boilermaker Jazz Band
Was this the one Nigel said looked 'twee'? I can't remember and don't have my PVR in front of me. Regardless, this one was 'twee' to me. Well danced and all that, but maybe I just don't get the style. These two are ultimately really talented regardless, I don't think they've got anything to worry about.
Kathryn & Legacy
Jazz by Sonya Tayeh
'So Deep' by Hot Chip
You all know I love me some Sonya, and this dance was no exception. I love the fact that she really tailors the dances to her dancers strengths, which really worked well for Legacy in this piece. The two of them mastered the 'photograph moments' where all movement just stops for a second. I love it when those are done well, no shaking, no shifting. It's like a sculpture with momentum. Additionally, Sonya tends to pick music that some might have problems finding the 'musicality' with when dancing. Definitely not a problem with this pair. Really well done. Love me some Legacy, he's become my FAVE dancer at this point.
Karen & Victor
Tango by Tony Meredith & Melanie Lapatin
'Montserrat' by Orquesta del Plata
Going into this, I was worried about Victor. He's a soft, flowy, Contemporary dancer. Could he pull off the strength of stature needed here? Definitely. Both Victor and Karen were fully invested in their characters and it showed. Aside from the point Nigel pointed out where Victor's ass was sticking out, the form was solid and held the whole way through. Very dramatic and well done. Thumbs up to the costume department here too. I think Karen had more fabric on her body in this one dance than she's had in all her other dances put together.
Mollee & Nathan
Hip Hop by Jamal Sims
'Ring-a-Ling' by Black Eyed Peas
Maybe this was the one Nigel called 'twee'. Okay - what the heck is 'twee'? It definitely qualified. But not necessarily in a bad way. Considering the concept, I'm not sure this could've been anything other than cute, especially with these two dancing it. It could've been hit harder by both, but overall, it was pretty good. Mollee and Nathan aren't going anywhere and, like the judges, I'm interested to see how they do paired up with other dancers.
Noelle & Russell
Samba by Tony & Melanie
'Hips Don't Lie' by Shakira
This is gonna be one of those dances that hurts this pair and may spell an ouster for at least one of them. Russell was in it, but I don't think Noelle was completely comfortable here. I agree - she was a little stiff. We've had the pleasure of seeing some really good Samba's on this show before (both the US and Canadian versions) and this wasn't one of them. Something just felt off the whole way through. Adam was right - it just wasn't 'oogie' enough.
Ashleigh & Jacob
Lyrical Jazz by Sonya Tayeh
'Time Flies' by Lykke Li
Admission up front: knowing Sonya's affinity for vampire/Twilight stuff, I had to double check the New Moon soundtrack to see if this was the Lykke Li song used on it. It wasn't. Second admission up front: writing this the day after the show, I'm having a difficult time remembering this piece. I remember thinking it was great at the time, agreeing with Nigel that it was a great piece by Sonya, but I'm drawing a complete blank now. Wait...this was the one where Jacob had to wear the horrid purple pants right? Right. That's all I can remember. So to sum up, it was good, but...it appears...not very memorable. Certainly not as memorable as the earlier Sonya piece, but still good. Ashleigh is proving herself (again) to be very versatile.
Ellenore & Ryan
Broadway by Spencer Liff
'Razzle Dazzle' from Chicago (Original Broadway Cast)
Being the non-Broadway fan I am, I was actually pretty surprised to find myself liking this one. Mostly because it seemed like Ryan was totally channeling Ed Grimley in his movement - made me chuckle the whole way through. Seriously though, this was fun. Two thumbs up for Ellenore & Ryan. Did anyone else pick up a 'goth-y' vibe from this? I liked this very much, and was for once drawn to Ryan's dancing more than Ellenore's. They're both awesome.
Kathryn & Legacy
Viennese Waltz by Jean-Marc Genereux & France
'Your Guardian Angel' by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Not to go with a theme or anything, but I do love me some Viennese Waltz. Jean-Marc (Com'ON!) and I have bonded over the Viennese Waltz before on the first season of the Canadian show. I agree with the judges that this had some technical issues throughout, but I just thought on a performance level it was lovely. Legacy is just so earnest in everything he does (as evidenced by his teary-ness after this dance) and I love that he wears his dance heart right out there on his sleeve. Going to shout my Legacy love again! Kathryn was definitely the stronger dancer of the two with this, but the pair of them really brought it together.
Karen & Victor
Hip Hop by Laurieann Gibson
'Moving Mountains' by Usher
This one was just a mess for me, flat out. The judges were right in that the music didn't fit the dance at all (which isn't the dancers' fault), the steps seemed messy (which is the dancers' fault), and you all know that Laurieann's choreography just doesn't do it for me. They couldn't move a mole hill with this, much less a mountain. Weakest showing of the night for me. I'm going to come right out and say it - this was badly choreographed but the dancer's didn't even try to bring it. Unfortunate.
Mollee & Nathan
Cancan by Tyce Diorio
'Cancan Suite' by Offenbach/Ponchielli
Okay, this dance really couldn't have been done by any other couple. I was all prepared to hate it, but it was actually pretty enjoyable. Like I said, perfectly tailored for these two with the spins for Nathan and all the cutesy stuff for Mollee. Much better than that Russian Folk horseshit (Bwah!) last year.
Noelle & Russell
Contemporary by Tyce Diorio
'A Case of You' by Diana Krall
It's so much better when Tyce does Contemporary as opposed to Broadway. He has real talent with these pieces. Add to that, the great song choice (original is by Joni Mitchell) and the strength of these dancers together and all in all this was a great performance. Easily made you forget the earlier samba.
Ashleigh & Jacob
Cha Cha by Jean Marc & France
'Cha Cha Heels' by Rosabel feat. Jeanie Tracy
This dance was a great way to end the show and this was pretty much a lock for Ashleigh & Jacob. Right in line with Ashleigh's own style and a great use of Jacob's abilities. Ashleigh rubs me the wrong way a bit, but even I've gotta admit this was hot. She's got great legs - and I loved to watch her enjoy her own style so completely. These two are Top 10 bound and beyond.
RESULTS
Okay, again, I just watched the group number and the results, so Carly's going to have to fill in some of the blanks a bit.
I've decided I much prefer Napoleon & Tabitha's group numbers to their pairs routines. Tonight's group number was awesome. The dance, the props, the costuming, the make-up; all top notch. For a few seconds at the beginning I thought "did they get Wade Robson to choreograph another routine?". Loved the Alice in Wonderland feel. I'll watch this one again (hooray for YouTube!)
Our bottom three couples were Mollee & Nathan (a little surprising), Ellenore & Ryan (slightly more surprising) and Karen & Victor (not really that surprising - not at ALL surprising from this corner).
After much monologuing from Nigel (which I'll rant about in a sec), our evictees tonight are Karen & Victor. Not really surprising (Called it Last Night), but for one thing in regards to the guys, which I intend to rant about...now.
Nigel, in his discussions with the guys, gave Victor a whole heap of praise for his solo and even more for the amount of growth he's experienced this season thus far. Then moving on Nathan, he says Nathan hasn't really shown any growth at all and doesn't really even mention his solo. Yet, it's Victor who's going home. YET - Nigel did say that if it was up to him Nathan would be going home. This wasn't a unanimous decision. The judges need to come to a decision on exactly what kind of show this is. If it is in fact, the search for America's favourite dancer, then I guess they made the right choice tonight seeing as Nathan's probably got a larger fan base. If that's the case though, they need to stop spewing about how 'this is a dance competition' and how the less trained dancers need to work on the technical, because that's clearly not the case.
Que sera, sera. See ya Karen & Victor. Sadly, your paycheques won't extend into the tour.
That's it for this week. You might be seeing more of Carly's posts over the next couple of weeks as next week is vacation prep for me and the following I'll be letting the bon temps rouler in New Orleans. A little cajun flavouring for my birthday this year! Should I mention which birthday it is? Not unless I don't want a Christmas present...LOL
Cheers! Salut!
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